Scottish Executive

Child Poverty

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children in (a) each local authority and (b) total were defined as living in a state of poverty in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of the child population and giving the percentage change on a year-on-year basis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table presents the number and proportions of children living in low income in Scotland in each of the last five years. Estimates are available at Scotland level only, not by local authority area.

  Proportion and Number of Children in Low-Income Households, below 60% of GB Median Income, Scotland (Thousands)

  


Year

Absolute
Relative


Before Housing Costs
After Housing Costs
Before Housing Costs
After Housing Costs


%
Numbers
%
Numbers
%
Numbers
%
Numbers


1998-99
26
290
29
320
27
300
31
340


1999-2000
20
220
24
260
24
260
28
310


2000-01
18
190
21
230
25
260
30
320


2001-02
14
140
16
170
25
260
30
320


2002-03
12
130
16 
170
23
240
27 
280




  The key low-income results, above, are for 60% of both the relative and absolute median thresholds. Estimates on the full range of income thresholds and explanation of how these estimates are calculated are published in Households Below Average Income, 1994-95 to 2002-03, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32212).The relative low-income measure compares against the median in the same year. The absolute measure compares against the median in the baseline year of 1996-97. Both areas are uprated to remove the effects of inflation.

  The figures are estimates based on a sample survey and are therefore subject to sampling variation. As such, small percentage changes are not significant when considered on a year-on-year basis; identification of trends should be based on several years of data.

Communities

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are issued to local authorities when allocating Better Neighbourhood Services Funding.

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Better Neighbourhood Services Funding should pay for services and amenities that are the responsibility of local authorities.

Malcolm Chisholm: The guidelines setting out the operation of the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund issued to local authorities can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/DD/H3/00014328/page121602847.aspx

  a copy of which is held in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 33998 and 33999). In brief, the guidelines state that the purpose of the fund is to enable local authorities and their community planning partners to improve services to those living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Equal Pay

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will allocate to the achievement of equal pay in each of the next three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is one of seven partners in the Close the Gap project that has been part-funded by the European EQUAL programme since November 2001. This project aims to raise awareness about the pay gap between women and men in Scotland and encourage activity to reduce it. The Scottish Executive has contributed £150,000 covering the period 2001 to 2005.

  The Executive is also contributing to the improvement of women’s individual incomes relative to men’s by taking action to help women access child care through:- the Executive’s Child care strategy (£30 million in 2004-05 and £41 million in 2005-06);- the Working for Families Fund (£10 million in 2004-05 and £10 million in 2005-06);- education and training through the Mentoring Initiative for Lone Parents (£225,000 for the period from 2003 to 2005), and- the £1,000 childcare grant supporting lone parents in further and higher education (so far over 4,500 grants have been awarded). The Enterprise Networks also undertake specific activity to support business start-ups among women.

  Scottish Executive budget allocations from 2006-07 onwards will be confirmed shortly.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have taken advantage of the prudential borrowing regime to supply socially-rented houses since its introduction in 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: The prudential borrowing regime came into effect in April 2004 and applies to all councils. It is too soon to say what impact this will have on local authority housing.

Housing

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Communities Scotland’s policy in respect of affordable housing enables land in private ownership to be used for this purpose and, if not, what policy changes it will make.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Communities Scotland operates a number of grant schemes for affordable housing and in many cases housing investment is used to fund house construction and rehabilitation on land that is privately owned, by RSLs, developers or individuals, for example, via Housing Association Grant, GRO Grants for Owner Occupation and the Rural Home Ownership Grant scheme.